Central America comprises of the countries, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The Panama and Central America cruises go specifically throughout Central America and pass through the Panama Canal, some cruises don’t pass through completely but in this type of cruises it will pass the canal and you will marvel at some of its attractions.

These Central American countries have been one of the best tourists’ destinations when it comes to cruises; this is due to their rich and colorful culture and history. The country Belize, is the only English speaking in Central American, this was a British colony until 1973. This is the only country in Central America which does not have a Pacific coastline.

You will find here the Red Creek Biological Reserve, which is the only jaguar reserve in the world. Only 20 percent of the land area of Belize that can’t be inhabited by humans and 60 percent is forested. Savannas are plenty in Belize, scrublands and swamps, these mostly covers the land area of Belize though its marine life is rich as the other Central American countries. Belize holds the second longest reef in the world, next to Australia and also has the longest living barrier reef. Belize is mostly drawn by tourists because of the diversity of its marine life and terrestrial. Not only that this is where the thousands of Mayan archaeological sites is located, also the UNESCO made its language, dance and music, Garifuna, as the Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

 In Costa Rica, you can find a widespread of national parks and reserves in this country; ecotourism is its main attractions here. This is also the country that is most visited in Central America. You will find the plenty of waterfalls, rainforests and so on. You can find the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge in Puntarenas, Costa Rica this is a butterfly and a hummingbird gardens. In San Jose, Costa Rica, you will find also the National Museum of Pre-Colombian Art and the Opera House. You can also enjoy snorkeling and swimming in Cahuita National Park and boating through some parks such as the Tortuguero Canals and the Aerial Tram ride in Limon, Costa Rica. You can also visit Costa Rica’s indigenous tribe in the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve and you can also find Sarchi the art village.

In Guatemala, this is also home to the some of the Mayan ruins in the Puerto Quetzal. Due to the Mayan culture, there are museums such as the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology and the private museum Vuh which exhibits Mayan artifacts. Guatemala has almost 329 museums. You can also find here the largest port in the Caribbean, the Santo Tomas de Castillo. Honduras, this is the home of UNESCO’s world heritage Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in La Mosquitia. Honduras is mountainous and has lots of rainforests. You can actually scuba dive and swim in the whale sharks in one of the islands of the Honduras’ Isla de Bahia, the Utila.

Nicaragua, also one of the tourist destinations, this is the home of the Lake Managua and the Lake Nicaragua, both of these lakes are also home to the bull sharks and the Lake Nicaragua Shark respectively. These are both freshwater lakes but are the home of the species of saltwater fishes such as swordfishes and tarpons. The Lake Nicaragua has two volcanic islands the Ometepe and the Zapatera.

In Panama City in Panama, is where you can find the colonial town, you can see here the President’s Palace, the Historical Museum of Panama, the Panama Canal Museum and so on. You can also check out the forts and the street markets in the town of Portobelo. One of the typical ports of call of the cruises, Gamboa this is in the middle of the Panama Canal and its neighboring village. You can also take one of the helicopter rides on the Panama Canal; this departs in Limon Costa Rica. There are tours which will take you to the Gatun Lake and Changres River, you can also raft, kayak and scuba dive. The cruise in the Panama and Central America are being drawn by tourists because of its natural and historical attractions.

Panama and Central America Cruises are all year round but much better if you will go there in the months of October to April. Cruises to these destinations are longer; this will take one week up to three weeks. Cruise lines will go through Panama Island and around the other destinations in Central America but if you plan to cruise specifically through the Panama Canal only, this will only last for one week or seven days.

Ports of Departure

• San Diego, California
• San Francisco, California
• Los Angeles, California
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Miami, Florida
• Acapulco, Mexico

 

Ports of Call

 

• Colon, Panama
•  Limon, Costa Rica
•  Santo Tomas De Castillo, Guatemala
• Cartagena, Colombia
• Gamboa, Panama
• San Blas Island
• Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica
• Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
• Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• Panama Canal
• Cristobal, Panama
• San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
• San Salvador, Ecuador